Fabric softener composition

ABSTRACT

A NON-YELLOWING FABRIC-SOFTENING COMPOSITION COMPRISING A MIXTURE OF A SULFOLENE AND AN ALIPHATIC ALKANOL WHICH IS DESIGNED FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANIONIC, CATIONIC, AND NONIONIC DETERGENT COMPOSTIONS.

United States Patent US. Cl. 2528.7 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA non-yellowing fabric-softening composition comprising a mixture of asulfolene and an aliphatic alkanol which is designed for use inconjunction with anionic, cationic, and nonionic detergent compostions.

The present invention relates to a non-yellowing fabricsofteningcomposition which may be used in conjunction with other conventionallaundering additives.

The art of treating textile materials with such agents as brighteners,softeners, antistatic agents, germicidal agents and the like is at thispoint a fairly well developed and commercially important industry. Inalmost every instance the finishing of the textile material isaccomplished upon the said material from the finishing mill prior to itsformation into a garment or wearing apparel. Some of the finishesappliedin the mill remain for a period of time-with the fabric, but others areremoved after or during the first or subsequent washes of the textilemate rial. In the manner of finishing textile goods, fibers such as wooland cotton as well as synthetic fibers such as nylon, Dacron polyester,Orlon acrylic fiber and the like are equally in need of additionaltreatment to render the wearing properties of the garment acceptable tothe trade. Among the desirable properties that may be provided byfinishing are enhanced softness, antistatic activity, wrinkleresistance, stiffness or firmness, shape retention, rot resistance andthe like. The particular end use of the fabric generally governs thenature of the property modifications provided by mill finishing. It isnot generally feasible to effect all property modifications on a singlefabric. Moreover, there are many fabrics that are not subjected to millfinishing at all. Therefore, there are many fabrics and garments madetherefrom in the hands of con sumers that would have enhanced value withcertain prop erty modifications.

It is also well known that many of the treatments applied in millfinishing are not durably fixed to fabric. Because of this, desirableproperties initially present on the fabric are lost after initial orsubsequent washing of the fabric or garments made therefrom. It isobvious, therefore, that the various fabrics or garments need subsequenttreatment by the consumer to realize utmost utility and comfort. I

The use of various and diverse chemical materials and particularlycationic quaternary ammonium compounds as softeners for textile productsis very well known in the art. It is also Well known to employ suchmaterials for their softening effect during the laundering operation andparticularly in the rinse cycle of the laundering process. Thistechnique has been necessitated by the fact that the softenersheretofore employed, being mainly cationic in nature, are not compatiblewith the major type of detergent used in the washing cycle. By far, thepredominating type of detergent used in home laundering processes, isanionic in nature and more particularly is of the alkali metalhigher-alkyl benzene sulfonate type. To employ a cationic substance,such as the aforementioned softeners, in conjunction with anionicdetergent materials, results in a precipitate which is completelyineffective as a fabric softener. This manifestation of incompatibilityis also un- Patented May 11, 1971 desirable because it removes detergentfrom the wash cycle and therefore requires more to accomplish thenecessary and desired washing efiiciency. As a consequence of thesedifliculties, it is absolutely necessary to add the presently availablecationic softeners to the clothes in the absence of any anionicdetergent and where this is done during washing it must he done duringthe rinsing cycle.

It is also well known that there is a tendency for laundered articles toyellow when treated with cationic agents. This yellowing of the textilestreated with cationics is believed to be caused by (1) highly coloredimpurities or by-products in some commercial cationic finishing agentsor (2) the presence of high amounts of iron in the finishing agents thatmay cause staining typical of iron compounds or, (3) due to the presenceof alkali when the materials treated with the cationics are ironed orpressed.

A further disadvantage of the cationic fabric softeners is that many ofthem are waxy or gummy in nature making them diflicult to weigh ormeasure, to mix or disperse with other textile-treating agents, and toplace them in a form which may be readily applied to textiles.

It is therefore an object of the instant invention to provide afabric-softening composition which may be used in conjunction withconventional detergent compositions.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide anon-yellowing fabric-softening composition.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a detergentcomposition containing therein a fabric softening composition.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide anon-yellowing fabric-softening composition which is compatible with anduseful in conjunction with anionc, catonic, and nonionic detergentcompositions.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide afabric-softening composition which may be introduced simultaneously withconventional laundering detergents directly into the wash cycle in aprocess for the laundering of textiles.

It is yet a further object to provide a fabric-softening compositionwhich may be employed in conjunction with detergents and other cleaning,brightening, and laundering additives in a single-step launderingoperation.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a fabric-softeningcomposition comprising 3-sulfolene or its derivatives in a combinationwith a long-chain aliphatic alcohol.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a non-yellowingfabric softening composition comprising 3-sulfolene and its derivativesand l-hexadecanol alcohol.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide anon-yellowing fabric softening composition comprising 3-sulfolene andl-hexadecanol alcohol in combination with a detergent.

Still further objects and advantages of the instant invention willbecome apparent from the following more detailed description whichappears hereinafter.

The fabric-softening composition ofthe instant invention comprises amixture of 3-sulfolene or substituted 3-sulfolene derivatives incombination with long-chain aliphatic alcohols.

The 3-sulfolene and its derivatives which are useful in the instantinvention include 3-sulfoluene and'its alkyl, alkoxy, alkylalkoxy, acyl,carboalkoxy, carboxamido, sulfonamido and halogen derivatives. Inparticular, the useful derivatives include the: methyl, ethyl, n-propyl,isopropyl, n-butyl, iso-butyl, secondary-butyl, tertiary-butyl, n-amyl,iso-amyl, tertiary-amyl, and other isomeric amyls, n-hexyl, iso-hexyl,and other isomeric hexyls, hydroxy, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy,methylmethoxy, ethylmethoxy, propylmethoxy, butylmethoxy, pentylmethoxy,hexylmethoxy, octylmethoxy, decylmethoxy, dodecylmethoxy,tetradecylmethoxy, hexadecylmethoxy, octadecylmethoxy;

methylethoxy," ethylethoxy, propylethoxy, butylethoxy,'

The long-chain alcohols useful in the instant invention 1 includesaturated aliphatic alcohols having from 16 to 22 carbon atoms. Inparticular the useful alcohols include straight and branched chainalcohols, including: decanol, undecanol, lauryl alcohol, tridecanol,tetradecanol, myristyl alcohol, pentadecanol hexadecanol, cetyl alcohol,heptadecanol, octadecanol, stearyl alcohol, nondecanol, eicosanol,heneicosanol, docosanol. Some additional alcohols useful in connectionwith the instant invention include: isodecanol, isotetradecanol,isohexadecanol, isooctadecanol, and the position isomers of all theabove alcohols, e.g., l-hexadecanol, 3-hexadecanol, S-hexadecanol,6-hexadecanol, 8-hexadecanol.

While it is known in the prior art to use long-chain aliphatic alcoholsas fabric softening agents, it has been found that the use of saidalcohols alone does not provide a satisfactory fabric softening result.It has been unexpectedly found that when one combines one of the above3- sulfolene compounds with a long-chain aliphatic alcohol, one obtainsa fabric softener far superior to that which may be obtained by the useof either an aliphatic alcohol or the sulfolene alone as is demonstratedby the following examples:

EXAMPLE 1 The softening ability of cetyl alcohol for cloth wasdemonstrated in a test in which cetyl alcohol was dissolved in hot waterand a terry cloth towel was treated therewith. The terry cloth towel wasthen rinsed, air dried, and subsequently tested for its degree ofsoftness. The towel received a rating of 1 on a scale of 10 with arating of 10 being considered excellent insofar as softness andflufiiness are concerned and a rating of 1 indicating no noticeablechange. A rating of 5 cannot generally be distinguished by the laymanfrom a rating of 1.

EXAMPLE 2 3-sulfolene was tested according to the method of Example l.The terry cloth towel was given a softness rating of 1.

EXAMPLE 3 A mechanical blend consisting of one part of 3-sulfolene toten parts of alcohol was tested according to the method of Example 1. Aterry cloth towel was given a softness rating of 8. The relative amountsof each ingredi ent of the test compositions were varied so that acomposition containing one part of 3-sulfolene to one, three, five, andeight parts of cetyl alcohol; and two parts of cetyl alcohol to three,five, seven, nine, and fifteen parts of 3-sulfolene were also tested.Each of these composi .tions produced a satisfactory result.

EXAMPLE 4 A washing machine test was conducted on a composition havingthe following present in the bath:

Percent Fabric softener (two parts of 3-sulfolene and three' parts ofl-hexadecanol) 0.01 Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate 0.02 Sodiumtripolyphosphate 0.06

The blend of fabric softener was dissolved in hot water to which wasadded the linear alkylbenzene sulfonate. This aqueous solution was thenadded to a washing machine along with sodium tripolyphosphate. A terrycloth tower was then Washed with this composition through the normalwashing machine sequence of wash cycle, spin cycle, rinse cycle, andspin cycle. The terry cloth towel was then air-dried and rated for itsrelative degree of softness, receiving a rating of 8.

EXAMPLE 5 The general procedure of Example 4 is followed,'except thatthe detergent formulations employed are as follows:

(a) Percent Fabric softener (as in Example 4) 10 Linear tridecylbenzenesulfonate 17 Sodium tripolyphosphate 70 Water Balance (b) Same as (a)except sulfonate is replaced by sodium lauryl sulfate.

(c) Same as (a) except sulfonate is replaced by nonyl phenol condensatewith ten moles of ethylene oxide.

(d) A liquid formulation containing:

Percent Frabric softener as in (a) 10 Nonionic as in (c) 10 Potassiumtetrapyrophosphate 25 Carboxy methylcellulose 10 Water Balance EXAMPLE 6A rinse cycle fabric softening composition is prepared having thefollowing components:

Percent Fabric softener as in Example 4 10 Sodium xylene sulfonate(active basis) 5 Water Balance Upon the addition of the above to therinse cycle during the laundering operation, excellent softnesscomparable to the previous examples is obtained.

EXAMPLES 725 The following fabric softening compositions were alsotested, both separately and in combination with the detergents andadditives disclosed herein as being useful for their ability to impartsoftness to fabric:

All the above compositions were found to impart a satisfactory degree ofsoftness.

Fabric softening composition compounds of the instant invention may beemployed either alone or in direct combination with conventionaldetergents. The useful detergents which may be used in conjunction withthe instant fabric softening composition include anionic detergents suchas alkylbenzene-sulfonic acid and its salts, and compounds of theformula alkyl-phenyl-SOg-M wherein alkyl is an alkyl radical of a fattyacid and M is hydrogen or an alkali metal, which compounds comprise awell-known class of anionic detergents and include sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, potassium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodiumlaurylbenzenesulfonate, sodium cetylbenzenesulfonate. Others are thealkali metal salts of the higher alkylsulfonic acids and the alkalimetal dialkyl sulfosuccinates, e.g., sodium dioctylsulfoscuccinate, andsodium dihexylsulfosuccinate, sodium sulfoethylphthalate, sodiumlauryl-p-anisidinesulfonate; sodium tetradecanesulfonate; sodiumdiisopropyhlaphthalenesulfonate; sodiumoctylphenoxyethoxyethylsulfonate, etc.; and the alkali metal alkylsulfates, e.g., sodium lauryl sulfate.

Among the above-noted alkylbenzene-sulfonic acid and salts thereof,there are included those which are biodegradable and which areparticularly characterized by a linear alkyl substituent of from C to Cand preferably from C to C It is, of course, understood that the carbonchain length represents, in general, an average chain length since themethod for producing such products usually employ alkylating reagents ofmixed chain length. It is clear, however, that substantially pureolefins as well as alkylating compounds used in other techniques can anddo give alkylated benzene sulfonates wherein the alkyl moiety issubstantially (ie at least 99%) of one chain length, i.e., C12, C C 01'C The linear alkyl benzene sulfonates are further characterized by theposition of the benzene ring in the linear alkyl chain, with any of theposition isomers (i.e., alpha to omega) being operable and contemplated.

The linear alkyl benzene sulfonates are generally and convenientlyprepared by sulfonating the corresponding alkyl benzene hydrocarbonswhich in turn may be prepared by alkylating benzene with a linear alkylhalide, a l-alkene or a linear primary or secondary alcohol. Pureisomers (of the l-phenyl isomer) are prepared by reduction of theacylated benzene (alkyl phenyl ketone) using a modification of theWolfE-Kishner reaction. The 2-phenyl isomer is obtained from n-undecylphenyl ketone and methyl magnesium bromide to form the tertiary alcoholwhich is dehydrated to the alkene and then hydrogenated. The S-phenylisomer is obtained similarly from n-heptyl phenyl ketone and n-butylmagnesium bromide. The other isomers are obtained in a similar mannerfrom the appropriate n-alkyl phenyl ketone and n-alkyl magnesiumbromide.

In addition to the benzene sulfonates one may also ernploy the loweralkyl (C to C analogs of benzene such as toluene, xylene, the trimethylbenzenes, ethylbenzene, isopropyl benzene and the like. The sulfonatesare generally employed in the water soluble salt form which include asthe cation, the alkali metals, ammonium, and lower amine andalkanolamine.

Examples of suitable linear alkyl benzene sulfonates:

sodium n-decyl benzene sulfonate sodium n-dodecyl benzene sulfonatesodium n-tetradecyl benzene sulfonate sodium n-pentadecyl benzenesulfonate sodium n-hexadecyl benzene sulfonate and the correspondinglower alkyl substituted homologues of benzene as well as the salts ofthe cations previously referred to. Mixtures of these sulfonates may, ofcourse, also be used with mixtures which may include compounds whereinthe linear alkyl chain is smaller or larger than indicated hereinprovided that the average chain length in the mixture conforms to thespecific requirements of C10 to C22- 6 The linear paraflin sulfonatesare also a well-known group of compounds and include water soluble salts(alkali metal, amine, alkanolamine, and ammonium) of:

l-decane sulfonic acid l-dodecane sulfonic acid l-tridecane sulfonicacid l-tetradecane sulfonic acid l-pentadecane sulfonic acidl-hexadecane sulfonic acid as well as the other position isomers of thesulfonic acid group.

In addition to the parafiin sulfonates illustrated above, others withthe general range of C to C alkyls may be used, with the most preferablerange being from C to C20.

The linear alkyl sulfates which are contemplated in this inventioncomprise the range of C to C Specific examples include sodium n-decylsulfate; sodium n-dodecyl sulfate; sodium n-hexadecyl sulfate; sodiumn-heptadecyl sulfate; sodium n-octadecyl sulfate; and the ethoxylated (1to moles ethylene oxide) derivatives; and, of course, the otherwater-soluble salt-forming cations mentioned above.

Also useful in conjunction with the instant invention are nonionicdetergents such as alkaryl polyglycol detergents such asalkyl-phenol-ethylene oxide condensates (2-200 moles ethylene oxide),e.g., p-isooctyl phenolpolyethylene oxide (10 ethylene oxide units),long chain alcohol-ethylene oxide condensation products (2-200 molesethylene oxide), e.g., dodecyl alcohol-polyethylene oxides having 4 to16 ethylene oxides units per molecule, polyglycerol monolaurate, glycoldioleate, sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monostearate, sorbitanmonopalmitate, sorbitan monooleate, sorbitan sesquioleate, thecondensation products of ethylene oxide with sorbitan esters of longchain fatty acids (Tweens), alkylolamides, amine oxides, phosphineoxides, etc.

In addition to the anionic and nonionic detergents which may be employedin conjunction with the instant invention, cationic, ampholytic, andzwitterionic compounds have also been found to be useful. Representativeof these compounds which may be employed in conjunction with the instantfabric softening compounds include quaternary ammonium compounds, e.g.,distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide,sodium 3-dodecylamino propionate, fatty carbamides, etc.

The composition of the instant invention may also include, in additionto the fabric softening compounds and conventional anionic, cationic,and nonionic detergent compositions, builders, brighteners, germicides,soil suspending agents, anti-redeposition agents, anti-oxidants,bleaches, coloring materials (dyes and pigments), perfumes,water-soluble alcohols, non-detergent alkali metal benzene sulfonates,etc.

The builder is, generally, a water-soluble, inorganic salt which may bea neutral salt, e.g., sodium sulfate or an alkaline builder salt such asphosphates, silicates, bicarbonates, carbonates, and borates. Thepreferred builders are those characterized as condensed phosphates suchas polyphosphates and pyrophosphates. Specific examples of alkalinesalts are: tetrasodium, pyrophosphate, pentasodium, tripolyphosphate(either Phase I or Phase II), sodium hexametaphosphate, and thecorresponding potassium salts of these compounds, sodium and potassiumsilicates, e.g., sodium metasilicate and alkaline silicates- (Na O; 2SiOand Na O; 3SiO sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and sodium andpotassium bicarbonate. Other salts may also be used where the compoundsare water-soluble. These include the general class of alkali metals,alkaline earth metals, amine, alkanolamine, and ammonium. Other builderswhich are salts of organic acids may also be used, and in particular thewater soluble (alkali metal, ammonium substituted ammonium and amine)salts of aminopolycarboxylic acids such as:

ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid nitrilo triacetic acid diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid N-(Z-hydroxyethyl)-ethylene diamine triaceticacid Z-hydrQXyethyl-iminodiacetic acid 1,2-diaminocyclohexane diaceticacid, and the like.

The compounds useful in the instant fabric-softening composition;namely, the sulfolene and the long-chain aliphatic alcohols, may becombined in proportions ranging from about one part of the sulfolenederivative to about ten parts of the long chain alcohol, to about tenparts of the sulfolene derivative to about one part of the long chainaliphatic alcohol. Greater or lesser amounts of each of theseingredients may be employed depending upon the specific application forwhich the composition is prepared. The fabric-softening composition maybe combined with detergent and other additives in an amount ranging from0.5% to 50% total fabric-softening composition.

While various preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated by means of specific examples, it is to be understood thatthe present invention is in no way to be deemed as limited thereto, butshould be construed as broadly as all or any equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:

, 1. A fabric-softening composition consisting essentially of (1) afive-membered heterocyclic compound selected from the group consistingof 3-sulfolene and substituted 3-sulfolenes; wherein the substituentgroups are selected from the class consisting of alkyl having from 1 to6 carbon atoms, alkoXy having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkylalkoxyhaving from 1 to 18 alkyl carbon atoms and from 1 to 4 alkoxy carbonatoms, carboalkoxy, wherein the alkoxy group has from 1 to 4 car -honatoms, N-alkyl and dialkyl carboxamidos, wherein the alkyl groups havefrom 1 to 2 carbon atoms, N-alkyl and dialkyl sulfonamidos, wherein thealkyl groups have from 1 to 2 carbon atoms, and halogen and (2) abranched or linear chain unsubstituted monohydric aliphatic alcoholhaving from to 22 carbon atoms, said five-membered heterocyclic compoundand said alcohol being present in a ratio of from 1:10 to 10:1.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the five-membered heterocycliccompound is 3-sulfolene.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the aliphatic alcohol is selectedfrom the group consisting of decanol, undecanol, tridecanol,tetradecanol, pentadecanol, hexadecanol, heptadecanol, octadecanol,nonadecanol, eicosanol, heneicosanol, and docosanol.

4. The composition of claim 3 wherein the five-membered heterocycliccompound is 3-sulfolene,

5. The composition of claim 4 wherein the aliphatic alcohol isl-hexadecanol.

I v6. The compound 0 claim 1 wherein the aliphatic alcohol isl-hexadecanol.

7. A fabric-softening detergent composition comprising thefabric-softening composition of claim 1 and an organic detergentselected from the group consisting of anionic, nonionic and cationicsynthetic detergents.

8. A composition as defined in claim 7 wherein the organic detergent isanionic.

9. A composition as defined in claim 8 wherein the fabric-softeningcomposition comprises 3-sulf0lene and l-hexadecanol in a weight ratio offrom 1:10 and 10:1.

10. The method of softening fabrics comprising treating said fabricswith a composition consisting essentially of (1) a five-mem'beredheterocyclic compound selected from the group consisting of 3-sulfoleneand substituted 3-sulfolenes, wherein the substituent groups areselected from the class consisting of alkyl having from 1 to 6 carbonatoms, alkoxy having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkylalkoxy having from 1to 18 alkyl carbon atoms and from 1 to 4 alkoxy carbon atoms,carboalkoxy, wherein the alkoxy group has from 1 to 4 carbon atoms,N-alkyl and dialkyl carboxamidos wherein the alkyl groups have from 1 to2 carbon atoms, N-alkyl and dialkyl sulfonamidos wherein the alkylgroups have from 1 to 2 carbon atoms and halogen and (2) a branched orlinear chain unsubstituted monohydric aliphatic alcohol having from 10to 22 carbon atoms, said five-membered heterocyclic compound and saidalcohol being present in a ratio of from 1:10 to 10:1.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the five-membered heterocycliccompound is 3-sulfolene.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the aliphatic alcohol is selectedfrom the class consisting of decanol, undecanol, tridecanol,tetradecanol, pentadecanol, hexadecanol, hep tadecanol, octadecanol,nonadecanol, eicosanol, heneicosanol, and docosanol.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the aliphatic alcohol isl-hexadecanol.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,420,834 5/1947 Morris et al.260-332.1 2,482,631 9/1949 Morris et al. -1 260332.1 2,734,830 2/1956Hagge et a1. 117-1395 3,178,366 4/1965 'DuBrow et al. 2528.7S 3,192,2316/1965 Welcher 260332.1

HERBERT B. GUYNN, Primary Examiner P. E. WILLIS, Assistant Examiner US.or. X.R. 117 1s9.5 252-86, 8.75, 152, 161.

